PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Monday nominated former senator Farhatullah Babar to a jirga negotiating between the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) and the state, a press release from the party said.
The nomination was made after PTM leader Manzoor Pashteen called Bilawal on the phone to request Babar's inclusion in the mediatory body.
"During the talk, Bilawal Bhutto said that PPP believes in the peaceful resolution of issues through dialogue and negotiations and he was happy to nominate Farhatullah Babar to the PTM reconciliatory jirga," the release said.
Spoke with leadership of PTM earlier today. PPP has agreed to Senator Farhatullah Babar being one of their representatives for the proposed jirga with government. https://t.co/4T02xpZaD5
— BilawalBhuttoZardari (@BBhuttoZardari) May 28, 2018
The former senator will join a long list of 30 people already nominated by the PTM for the jirga, which includes PTM leaders — excluding Pashteen — as well as members of other political parties, including Awami National Party (ANP) and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP).
PTM, which had started off with five demands including bringing to justice the murderers of Waziristan native Naqeebullah Mehsud, removal of landmines and release of missing persons, is now calling for a truth and reconciliation commission to address all issues facing Pakhtuns in the country.
They demand that the proposed truth and reconciliation commission should be tasked with looking into target killings, demolition of houses, missing persons and other problems faced by the ethnic community.
